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Compare Prices on Norwegian Pearl Alaska Cruises

rvgal runs for Governor of Alaska!!!!

Sail Date:
June 2009

Destination:
Alaska

Embarkation:
Seattle

OK so This was our first cruise ever.... We chose NCL for the freestyle cruising as we have 2 teenager and a mother in law to please. Glad we did. The Pearl is a lovely well taken care of ship. The staff were friendly most of the time, the entertainment was really a lot of fun.They really do try. The only minus was the harassment from the bar tenders trying to get us to buy alcoholic drinks allllll the time. Annoying after a while. It's like timeshare for alcohol. Oh, and the pushy jewelry selling.

Cabin was small but we did not have high expectations as we only booked a week before traveling. It was an inside state room.room 10633. It had a very comfortable bed, extremley clean everyday. Great shower and powerful hairdryer. expensive mini bar... loved the towel animals every night when we had turn down service. we were at the back of the boat so in the morning it was a little nosiey but it was not a problem. We can not More
complain but have had nothing to compare. we were happy with it though.

Anyway..back to the boat. The ship had a bowling alley on it ,pool ,casino, plenty of entertainment, they had white hot night bingo, a great comedian, and sharkbait were hillarious. The lounge at the front of the boat hosts lots of parties and comedy nights for adults only, well worth going to see, if you are easily offended stay out of the lounge...... They have karaoke, and a nightclub at the rear of the ship. The kids clubs were really good from what we saw. The spa at the front of the boat charges a weekly pass for $99 well worth it just for the view and the relaxation you get from the piece and quiet in there.The womens sauna room has a view not to be wasted. I did not get any services, so cannot comment.

We tried Cagneys steakhouse , which was just OK. Le Bistro very good,the Sushi place my husband and daughter loved it. The teppenyaki which is difficult to book, was really good food and value for money. Tip: Book at 5pm on the day you go into victoria as not many peoole choose this time as they are getting into port at 6pm, but you are off the boat by around 7pm. The restaraunts that were included also served some really great food, they have lobster twice thru the week so check the menus. Go to the Great Outdoors for breakfast and I can tell you you will not experience a view like that anywhere again...... On the day they go to to the glacier national park, get on deck early tag a seat EARLY, and do not move all day. The great out doors became our litle sanctuary, at the back of the boat.The views were breathakingly stunning.You get great pictures from here and see whales too. There were about 2400 people on the boat and it did not seem like that at all. There is so much to do on board.

I have to say I am hooked on cruising. Everyone in our family had a great time. NCL were really good cruiseline to go with. we are really looking forward to our Princess crusies that we have booked in the caribbean in Nov 2009 to see how it compares with NCL. Less

Compare Prices on Norwegian Pearl Alaska Cruises

Cabin review: Norwegian Pearl 10633

Cabin was small but we did not have high expectations as we only booked a week before traveling. It was an inside state room.room 10633. It had a very comfortable bed, extremley clean everyday. Great shower and powerful hairdryer. expensive mini bar... loved the towel animals every night when we had turn down service. we were at the back of the boat so in the morning it was a little nosiey but it was not a problem. We can not complain but have had nothing to compare. we were happy with it though.

Port and Shore Excursions

Came into Juneau along with about 6000 others that day, which was the first port of call. This was our first cruise and first experience disembarking etc it was extremly smooth, I have to say. We got quite a stay here.

When you get off the boat there are a lot of excursions that are offered independant from the boats that dock here. So if you want to save a little if there are a lot of you traveling together, then wait to book an excursion when you arrive here.

There are a lot of shops that pretty much sell the same kinds of trinkets here. But they sell very reasonable items to take back from your trip. Great prices in the Alaska shirt Co.

We opted to take a tour to the glacier that we bought once we landed , there were 5 of us, we paid around $27 per person for a 2.5 hr trip to the glacier and this trip saved us $150 by booking in Juneau. We chose to do this as we knew that the locals rely on tourists and so were happy that the money went straight to the local businesses. Our tour guide was a local of 25 years, and so knew a lot about Juneau, which he told us on our travels. He also told us of shops to go to that were there 365 days a year and that were not just seasonal, like the majority of the jewlery shops. There is a guy who makes local enamel pins here which are a great thing to take home, and also a local restaraunts that sells fresh fish dishes. We took a bus trip to the Mendenhall glacier. The glacier,waterfall, and the ice fields were great to see.The ultimate high-lite though was the bear cub sighting here. We saw the bear about 15ft away, as we left the shore from viewing the glacier we turned to walk back to the bus and there was the bear grazing right in-front of us.You could not have got a more perfect sighting....but we knew to keep our distance and knew that the mama bear was not far away. Great experience. Juneau was a good place to visit.

Arrived in the picturesque port of ketchikan we exited the boat early again as we got from 6.000am until only 2pm here unfortunately... we should have spent longer here... shops opened early and here there were excursions to see totem poles,whale and bear watching, kayaking, jet boating, fishing going to see the old red light district Creek Street, where the fishermen and loggers were entertained, but it now houses shops. we chose to take our teenagers kayaking and jet boating. My husband and Son went on a kayaking tour and saw bald eagles, marine life and the outer waterways of the island. I took my daughter on a jet boat from a local company just opposite where the boat docks.They kit you out in all you need for a tour on the boat, so you are nice and warm they even give you binoculars. They advertise it as a boat trip not a whale watching tour. You have your own jet boat so you have to have at least a vague notion of driving a boat... If you dont like open water this is not for you, BUT let me tell you that you it was a fantastic experience.You go out into the ocean( i think it was the ocean anyway) following your guide who is in his own boat,whilst he explains nature and sites along the way,he takes you along the shoreline, where you spot porpoises bald eagles whales and to see some totem poles and then out thru the channel.What an amazing experience my daughter and I had. We actually spotted a baby calf and mother and watched them in the wild.It was wonderful, scary a little for me (the mum) but truly wonderful experience to share with my daughter. The owner of the company Sarah and her husband were truly gracious and love what they do.The guide was very careful in making sure that we kept our distance and educated us on the whales.LOVED IT!!! If you don't do any excursions....at least try this out. We then went to the old town ketchikan shopped and ate halibut, and also visited creek street. Ketchikan is by far the most entertaining place we visited.

Landed in Skagway at about 6am, as some trips last about 8hrs on the train up into the Yukons, the ship gives you plenty of time here. It is a very small but quaint gold rush town,same old jewlery shops as Juneau, still looked original though. Here we opted to take the White Pass train to BC.The train leaves the docks and travels on the narrow gauge line, thru the hills ascending the mountains and breathtaking scenery along with the narration from people on board.Well worth the time and money. we took a picnic and drinks from the local grocery store. Amazing pictures to be taken here and at the stops along the way, for the more adventurous you can white water raft here also ..There are several trips to take on this old railroad, the cruise ships book out most of the tours so book ahead, although again we did not book with the cruise line, so had to do the 4hr trip at 12:30 noon, which was just long enough. They sell a hat on board for only $10 with the year you were on the railroad, or a DVD for only $15.00. well worth it. After leaving the train we still had plenty of time to take a look in the town and go souvenir shopping. All in all a very pleasant day, the weather was great for us and the scenery beautiful, like being in a perpetually moving postcard.

Very nice place but a waste of time really...... It rained sadly.There really is not that much to do here a when you arrive at 6pm till 12. The empress only let you in if you were having tea. To be fair we have visited here before so were not impressed.